The State of Venture — April 2026

This report was written by our suite of AI Agents using Codex as orchestrator and Claude Code as Agent

Executive Summary

April 2026 saw $33.7 billion deployed across 652 funding rounds involving 2,170 distinct investors. Capital concentration remained pronounced: the ten largest deals accounted for 57.2% of all capital, led by two Anthropic corporate rounds totaling $15 billion. Excluding the top ten, the remaining 642 rounds deployed $14.4 billion.

Series A rounds led priced activity with 157 deals totaling $4.3 billion, while seed rounds were the most numerous at 222 deals worth $2.5 billion. Series B activity came in at 66 rounds and $3.9 billion. The US captured 72.8% of total capital ($24.5 billion across 239 rounds), with Asia ($4.7 billion, 179 rounds) and Europe ($3.7 billion, 167 rounds) filling out the picture.

Y Combinator led deal participation with 18 rounds, while Khosla Ventures led the most rounds as lead investor with 6. Software, Science & Engineering, and AI remained the dominant sector categories by capital deployed. Five Series B companies qualified under SignalRank’s v4 model.

Market Pulse

652 rounds closed in April 2026, deploying $33.7 billion in total capital. 649 distinct companies raised, backed by 2,170 investors.

The headline number carries heavy skew: Anthropic’s two corporate rounds ($10 billion and $5 billion) together represent 44.4% of the month’s total. The top 10 deals captured 57.2% of all capital deployed — $19.3 billion across just 1.5% of all rounds.

Adjusting for that concentration, the remaining 642 rounds split $14.4 billion. Pre-seed rounds landed at a $1.4 million median, seed at $3.5 million, Series A at $14.6 million, and Series B at $36.6 million.

6-Month Capital Trend

Over the trailing six months (November 2025 through April 2026), monthly round counts ranged from 652 to 1,019. February 2026 remained the outlier at $193.7 billion (driven by exceptionally large mega-rounds). April’s $33.7 billion across 652 rounds sits in a normalized range alongside November ($25.4 billion) and December ($24.6 billion).

Round counts dropped from a March peak of 1,019 to April’s 652 — a 36% month-over-month decline. This likely reflects seasonal patterns and data lag rather than structural contraction.

Stage-by-Stage View

Pre-Seed: 99 rounds deployed $167.5 million at a median of $1.4 million. Activity remains steady at the earliest stage.

Seed: The most active stage by volume with 222 rounds and $2.5 billion in total capital. The median seed round came in at $3.5 million, with an average of $11.0 million reflecting a long tail of larger seed rounds. Ineffable Intelligence’s $1.1 billion seed round was a standout.

Series A: 157 rounds deployed $4.3 billion at a median of $14.6 million. Series A continues to be the largest priced-round category by deal count among lettered stages.

Series B: 66 rounds at $3.9 billion, with a median of $36.6 million. Valar Atomics ($340 million) led the stage.

Series C: 34 rounds deploying $3.7 billion at a $76.0 million median. Slate Auto’s $650 million round led the stage.

Series D+: 18 rounds across Series D through I, collectively deploying $2.8 billion. True Anomaly’s $600 million Series D and SiFive’s $400 million Series G anchored the late-stage activity.

Corporate/SAFE/Other: 55 rounds deployed $16.5 billion, dominated by Anthropic’s $10 billion and $5 billion corporate rounds.

Top 10 Deals

The ten largest rounds ranged from $300 million (Volant Aerotech, Series C) to $10 billion (Anthropic, corporate). Seven of the top ten were US-based. London placed two deals in the top ten: Ineffable Intelligence ($1.1 billion seed) and Recursive Superintelligence ($500 million Series A). Mexico City entered with Plata’s $405 million Series C. China’s Volant Aerotech ($300 million Series C) rounded out the list.

Geography

United States

The US accounted for 239 rounds and $24.5 billion (72.8% of global capital). San Francisco dominated with 49 rounds and $16.5 billion — heavily driven by Anthropic. New York followed with 31 rounds and $1.0 billion. Cambridge ($578 million, 10 rounds), El Segundo ($540 million, 2 rounds), and San Diego ($538 million, 6 rounds) rounded out the top five US cities.

Global

Beyond the US, Europe posted 167 rounds totaling $3.7 billion, with London ($1.8 billion, 28 rounds) driving the continent. Asia recorded 179 rounds and $4.7 billion, with Shenzhen ($581 million, 7 rounds) and Beijing ($571 million, 9 rounds) as top markets. Bangalore ($342 million, 4 rounds) represented India’s activity, while Tel Aviv ($208 million, 5 rounds) led for Israel.

Who Is Winning

Sector Breakdown

Science and Engineering led all sector categories at $26.4 billion across 273 rounds, followed by Software ($24.7 billion, 291 rounds) and Data and Analytics ($23.0 billion, 209 rounds). AI ($22.6 billion, 196 rounds) and Information Technology ($18.8 billion, 115 rounds) continued to dominate. These categories overlap significantly — many AI companies tag under multiple sector groups. Manufacturing ($4.6 billion, 84 rounds) and Health Care ($3.2 billion, 103 rounds) were the largest non-software verticals.

Lead Investor Activity

Khosla Ventures led 6 rounds in April, deploying $656 million in lead capital. Sequoia Capital, General Catalyst, Peak XV Partners, and Andreessen Horowitz each led 4 rounds. Lightspeed Venture Partners led 3 rounds worth $1.2 billion — the highest capital among 3-round leads, driven by large growth-stage deals.

Repeat Investors

Y Combinator appeared in 18 rounds — the most active investor in April by participation. General Catalyst and Khosla Ventures each participated in 8 rounds. First Round Capital and Bpifrance each appeared in 7 rounds, reflecting continued European public-sector VC activity from the latter. Among later-stage specialists, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Andreessen Horowitz each participated in 6 rounds.

Smart Money Flow

Investor quality varied by stage. Series B attracted the highest average investor scores, followed by Series D and Series C — consistent with experienced investors concentrating at growth stages. Pre-seed had the lowest average scores, reflecting the wider range of investors active at the earliest stages.

Among Series B rounds, 67 high-score investors (85th percentile or above) participated, out of 370 total. Series A drew 102 high-score investors from 675. Seed rounds attracted 92 high-score investors from 859, a notable volume given the stage’s breadth.

SignalRank Qualifiers Snapshot

5 Series B companies qualified in April under the SignalRank v4 model. By score at Series B, Mintlify (669,762), Avoca (586,131), and Parallel (533,429) led the cohort. By disclosed round size, Avoca ($125 million) and Parallel ($100 million) were the largest. Sona ($45 million) and Sahi ($33 million) rounded out the qualifier set.

Series B rounds did drop, but not proportionately.

From March to April:

• Total Series B rounds fell 34%: 100 -> 66

• SignalRank qualifiers fell 75%: 20 -> 5

• Qualifier rate fell from 20.0% to 7.6%

This is a function of SignalRank algorithms becoming stricter in volatile market conditions - driven by its dynamic thresholding system.

What This Means For

VCs

Capital concentration intensified further in April — 57.2% of all capital flowed to just 10 deals. For funds outside the mega-round bracket, the competitive landscape is moderate: 642 rounds split $14.4 billion. Series A pricing held with a $14.6 million median, and Series B median round sizes remained healthy at $36.6 million.

Founders

Seed-stage founders saw solid activity with 222 rounds closing in April. Pre-seed remained accessible at a $1.4 million median. The month-over-month drop in round count from March’s 1,019 to April’s 652 warrants monitoring, though it may partially reflect data reporting lag. London emerged as a strong alternative hub with 28 rounds and $1.8 billion deployed.

LPs

The trailing 6-month trend shows persistent volatility driven by mega-rounds (February’s $193.7 billion spike remains the outlier). Underlying round counts have fluctuated between 652 and 1,019. Investor quality data shows experienced investors continuing to concentrate at Series B and C — a signal that smart money sees the strongest risk-adjusted opportunity at growth stages.

Trailing trend data covers November 2025 through April 2026.